Three gifted students drown in Fox River

Big dreams cut short

After voting in his first election last week, 18-year-old Jimmie Avant stayed up into the wee hours of the night celebrating Barack Obama's presidential victory.

So moved by the Illinois Democrat's win, Avant, a senior at North Lawndale College Preparatory High School, told his mother, "If Obama can achieve that, I can too,"

Avant and two other North Lawndale students, Melvin Choice III, 17, and Adrian Jones, 16 --all described as high achievers who planned to attend college -- drowned in an early-morning boating accident on the Fox River near a campsite in northwest suburban Algonquin.

Jones graduated valedictorian in grade school and made the high school's honor roll every year, his family said. He was a straight-A student and a lifeguard who dreamed of owning his own business and having children, especially a little girl.

The three were among about 16 teenagers who snuck out about 1:30 a.m. to take paddleboats down the river, some of the victims' family members said. Authorities said two teens got in the first boat -- it's unclear which two -- and the boat quickly sunk. The third teen swam into the cold water to save them.
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